Comic book movie adaptations are a dime a dozen these days, from blockbuster epics like Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice to more gritty fare Deadpool. And the genre isn't letting up any time soon, as comic book movies currently account for a large portion of each year's box office. But since Hollywood is always looking for more properties to reinvent, they've started branching out to lesser known properties.

Later this year, Luc Besson (The Fifth Element) will take on the award-winning 1967 French graphic novel Valérian and Laureline for the big screen. Meanwhile, Mark Millar's time travel adventure Chrononauts could be coming to theaters within the next few years. Yet for all the live-action adaptations happening across the major studios, animated comic book movies are much less common, which makes this latest development all the more intriguing.

Following a bidding war, Fox Animation has acquired the rights to adapt Noelle Stevenson's best-selling graphic novel Nimona as an animated feature film. According to THR, Patrick Osborne, who was behind Disney's Oscar-winning animated short Feast, will direct, and studio exec-turned-screenwriter Marc Haimes (Kubo and the Two Strings) is attached to pen the script.

Part-science fiction, part-fantasy, Nimona follows a young female shapeshifter of the same name, who teams up with a disgraced knight in order to reclaim his honor and overthrow a corrupt regime led by Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin. She's pushy and rambunctious, and Lord Ballister Blackheart just wants to make sure she doesn't destroy everything while they're on their path to greatness.

Stevenson first wrote and drew Nimona as a web comic while a student at Maryland Institute College of Art. The comic was published online in June 2012 and doubled as Stevenson's senior thesis. Its popularity and acclaim then led to Harvey and Eisner Awards, as well as her being awarded the Slate Cartoonist Studio Prize for best web comic in 2012. HarperCollins finally published the graphic novel in May 2015, where it landed on the the New York Times bestseller list.

So it's not surprising that after all the positive reviews, Nimona's next big leap is to the big screen. Part of the comic's universal appeal is the artwork's fun, sketchy feel that also helps to set up the comic's tone. If the movie were to be live-action, it would take away from Nimona's unique identity.

But what do you think, Screen Rant readers? Are you excited to see Nimona on the big screen? Let us know in the comments.

Stay tuned for more news on Nimona as it becomes available.

Source: THR